PERSEPOLIS

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Transcript of PERSEPOLIS

••• sports an obvious but simple artistic style•|•••------PERSEPOLIS•TEHRAN •THE STORY OF A CHILDHOODTHE STORY OF A CHILDHOODby Marjane SatrapiIRANV•••-•••• An astute reader may already notethat is the ancient PERSEPOLIScapitol of(And mistakenly conclude that this is where the titular childhood occurs)The is a ClueTitle(It actually takes place here)The story does take place in andIRANIRANAND WHILEplays one of the largest roles in the story...IN FACT,The story's title, , underscores how powerfully the otherwise unrelated history of Iran defines this child's story. (And that itself is a big theme)PERSEPOLISPERSEPOLIS is not really about Iran.

It's not a history book. It's not an epic. As the (overshadowed) subtitle states, it's a story "of a childhood", and is a very charming, very personal tale.Much of the novel's appeal is in how it tells thestory of the titular childhood and gives insight on extremely weighty issues of culture, religion, and politics through their eyes.(That child is Marji.)(This is her)Beforewe continue...It's worth noting that is unusual.PERSEPOLIS•••||||PERSEPOLISis an autobiographyPERSEPOLISis a graphic novelPERSEPOLISis the story of a muslim womanWhat makes this unusual is thatTHISTHISandare pretty rare inTHEESEAnd that makes a particularly specialPERSEPOLISand particularly important story to share with secondary-level students.•••••( is particularly rare.)THIS•--PERSEPOLIS•THE STORY OF A CHILDHOODTHE STORY OF A CHILDHOODby Marjane SatrapiWe'llcobacktome•••||||LATER...think about,,,,(As in, the actual title of the book)For now, let's...You see,•••AN INTRODUCTION TO:••THEESE|--||and are rarely taught as literature)(|SO•••What is about?PERSEPOLISReallyVPERSEPOLISis an overview of Marji's childhood before, during and after aTo put it simply,

tumultuous period

of Iranian history.Marji, 10Marji, 14Marji, 31THE IRANIAN ISLAMIC REVOLUTION1978-1979(Where the ruling dynasty was overthrown and replaced with a brutal theocratic republic)•••••••••••••••Importantly,AniPapaUncleAnooshwhile the novel makessocial commentary, every-thing is told on a personallevel, with the themes of loss and change and struggleinformed and reflected byMarji's interactions withher family.FAMILY(Grandma)(It doesn't)|||||||||||||||||||||•••|||••••||||||||FOR EXAMPLE,•Throughout the novel, very serious 'big picture' issuesare filtered through Marji's naieve perspective.News of important events, or the grave effects ofpolitical upheaval are encountered through domestic means and interpreted (and misinterpreted) domestically. (eavesdropping)(school play)(fable-esque storytelling)This creates something like a Middle Easternwhere the issues of the adult world are inescapapablypresent, but are viewed with naieve misunderstanding.This crafts a lot of the work's sense ofhumor, and in turn, it's charm.Broadly speaking, PERSEPOLIS's 19 chapters can be divided into 5 meaningful stages of Marji's life: FORMATIVEINNOCENTCHILDCHILDTEENAGERYOUNGADULT(or EXPOSITORY)(or PRE-LOSS RUMINATION)(or POST-LOSS)Marji, Marji's Family, and the setting are establishedCH 1 - 2Marji begins thinking and questioning although she does not fully understandCH 3 - 9Marji begins properly interactingwith the world around herCH 10 - 14Marji takes on (and struggleswith) responsibilityCH 15 - 17Marji must step outon her ownCH 18 - 19And for all these reasonsAND MOREI argue that...PERSEPOLISI'll explain thatVBUT WHY?PERSEPOLISVWhy reccommend ? There are a host of other novels thatPERSEPOLISmany consider to be just as if not more educational. While PERSEPOLISis developing modest popularity (more on that later), it's not terribly commonin secondary-level reading curriculums. Not many seem to think it's too terriblyspecial. So why am I championing it so much? What has gotIs an ideal second-ary level textto teach.|--||••To answer that we finally revisit...PERSEPOLISthat other works don't?INTEREST(get ready for a lot of breaking stuff up into 3's)One of the most important parts of a book in terms of learning is INTEREST.You can have a story chalk-full of great, illuminating, enriching material, but itdoesn't do any good at all if students have no compelling reason to read it.|--||Each of these factors increase student interest in unique and important ways:•Visual Elements appeal to students that learn visuallyor have difficulty followingtraditional prose texts.Redford, K. 'Graphic Novels Welcome Everyone Into the Reading Conversation'. Retrieved from http://dyslexia.yale.edu/EDU_GraphicNovels.html1.1.•Graphic Novels are... novel!by using a distinctive format,PERSEPOLIS stands out and1.drums up interest.•Texts that bill themselves as"based off a true story" drawsignificant reader interestsimply because it's real1.•••In perhaps the most importantinfluence on student interest,Persepolis provides minoritystudents who often do not getto read works that depict theirculture and is relevant to theirlivesBONUS!!BANNED BOOKPERSEPOLIShas thethe added appeal of being a...2.2.Using Graphic Novels in Education: Persepolis. Retrieved from http://cbldf.org/librarian-tools/using-graphic-novels-in-education/using-graphic-novels-in-education-persepolis/INTRODUCTIONFor a work to be truly valuable in the field of education, it must do more thansimply present information. It must also act as an "intellectual gateway" thatthat INTRODUCES students to new concepts and ideas, allowing them to branch|--||•Biographies are held with acertain stigma by manystudents who are alreadyreluctant to pick up non-1.•••PERSEPOLIS manages to cover asurprisingly extensive overviewof Iranian (and Muslim) historyand culture in a way that'seasy to read and connect to,even as a total foreignerBONUS!!PERSEPOLISisoriginally a Frenchwork and can act asout and discover, explore, and experience new things and gain new skills.PERSEPOLIS is a good introduction to:Graphic NovelsCONTENTMECHANICS•A lot of graphic novels expect the readerto be unusually savvywith the medium and its conventions, generally for the purposeof deconstruction or commentary.Works like or carry an expectation of extensive prior knowledge and are extremely intertextual.and are pretty inaccessable Works likewithout already understanding the characters and worlds.PERSEPOLISdoes not wildly experiment within the medium. That is to say, when you readPERSEPOLIS , you're readinga fairly standard, straightforward display of the graphic novel form.•PERSEPOLIS•PERSEPOLISstrikes a good balance between being over-refferrential and over-isolated by toying with cultural interplaythat are not mandatory to fully understanding the story andits themes.•PERSEPOLISis neither a superhero story nor a science-fiction, importantly defying the assumptions many readers haveabout graphic novels. By introducing an atypical genre, the workillustrates the conventions of the medium, rather than the conv-entions of the genres that most typically associate with it.•BREAKING RULES OFPERSPECTIVEUSE OF NEGATIVE v.POSITIVE SPACEREPEATING/OVERLAPPING SHAPE-PATTERNSHIGH CONTRAST USEOF BLACK AND WHITEUnlike works like ,PERSEPOLIS does black and white illustrations without a noisyvisual vocabulary.PERSEPOLISextremely straightforward and'simplistic design choices make itmuch easier for new readers toread, understand, and most imp-ortantly, analyze.(childlike atmosphere)(conformity)(dark and light atmospheres)This makes anPERSEPOLISideal introduction to concepts ofgraphic analysis, which are vitalwhen analyzing graphic novels.VISUAL THEMES_____________High Contrast B/W -However, still has enough stylistic range to act•---_____________-Positive/Negative Space -Starkness, HarshnessChildishness, EarnestnessRepeating Patterns -Conformity/Uniformity~~~Dark/Light AtmospherePERSEPOLISEven the very first pageacts as a fantastic illust-ration of defining artistic themes that continue throughout the novel that would be immediatelynoticeable (if not recognizable) tographic novel newcomers.as a comprehensive introductory tour to important GN techniquesFor example...FULL PAGEILLUSTRATIONS(to underscore importantevents or ideas)Theocratic School Mid-WarLoss of Faith/AnooshLast trip with family outside of Iran, before warREVISITED COMPOSITION(to create parallelism andforeshadowing)USE OF SPACETO CONVEY THEPASSAGE OF TIMEan effective intro-duction to French Litas well!--||||||||fiction reading anyway.PERSEPOLIS offers a bio-graphical story told in away (and with a medium)extremely appealing anddigestible to students new to biographies1.•It also covers a tale of earlywomanhood in an oppressivegovernment, providing poign-ant and important politicaland social context for stud-ents new to such issues.STANDARDSThe contemporary educator must look out for more than just a good, engaging,and insightful read. They must look for books that fulfill the standard set by thestate as well, and PERSEPOLIS manages to deliver on standard opportunities in spades1.BONUS!!PERSEPOLIShasan Oscar-nominatedanimated film adaptation2.Using Graphic Novels in Education: Persepolis. Retrieved from http://cbldf.org/librarian-tools/using-graphic-novels-in-education/using-graphic-novels-in-education-persepolis/available for free on(here it is!)This makesPERSEPOLIS anexcellent opport-unity to satisfyLAFS.6.RL.3.7, LAFS.7.RL.3.7, LAFS.8.RL.3.7, or LAFS.910.RL.3.7

in a rare adaptation (graphicnovel to animated film) thatcan't really be seen elsewhereLAFS.910.RL.2.6Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature. Browse and Search Standards. Curriculum Planning and Learning Management System. Retrieved from http://www.cpalms.org/Public/search/Standard#0CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.1, 6.2,6.3CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.1, 7.2, 7.3CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL8.1, 8.2, 8.3CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.910.1, 910.2, 910.3Key Ideas and DetailsCCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.4, 6.5, 6.6CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.4, 7.5, 7.6CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL8.4, 8.5, 8.6CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL910.4, 910.5, 910.6CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.68.5CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.68.6Craft and StructureCCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.9CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.9CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.68.8Integration of Knowledgeand IdeasCCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.10CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.7.10CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.10CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL910.10CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.68.10Range of Reading andLevel of Text ComplexityCartoonish Style -CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.3CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.3CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.3Knowledge of LanguageCCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.4CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.5CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.6CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.4CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.5CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.6CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.4CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.5CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.6CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.4CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.5CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.6Vocabulary Acquisitionand UseCCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.9CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.9CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.9Research to Build andPresent KnowledgeCCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.1CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1Comprehension andConstruction

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.4CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.4CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.4CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.4Presentation of Know-ledge and IdeasBut THESE are all mostly general.The real valuable stuff are standardslike THESE where PERSEPOLIS uniquelyaddesses standardsmost other worksCAN'TNONE OF THISis to say that isPERSEPOLIStheBEST|--||oror, do I believetheBESTororto teach.________________________________NORHOWEVER,|--||when you view as a balancePERSEPOLISbetween its successes in medium and cont-ent, you see it as it is: An irreplacable kind of successAND is the first book of aThe sense of continuityand sustained invest-series is a great drawment from reading a for many youngseries (a duology)readers.it isthat covers more untraveled ground than any one text.betterVAND THAT'Swhat makesPERSEPOLISsuch a valuable read. Not because of any one thing,but because of the area covered when you compare the interest it inspires in students against the conceptsit introduces them to against the standards the work meets, you get an unmatched opportunity for learning.Lexile Measurement: 380L Grade Readibility: 5.8Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi | Scholastic.com. Scholastic. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/persepolis#cart/cleanup1.1.Perhaps you'll notice here that Marji's very character design has changed.(here too)This is an example of how the novel's artaccentuates and even develops some of the story's themes (in this case, change)Here's an example of such a thematic arc...(justifying some of the stages)Marji begins the story with a childlike relationship with God, portrayed as a sort of imaginary friend.At this point, she wants to be a prophetOne night, Marji becomes especially enamoredby the protests her mother and father takeAt this point, she wants to be a revolutionarypart in and demands to take part. Goddisappears.Finally, the revolutionary uncle sheidolized was falsely accused of espion-age and executed for treason.In a fit of rage, Marji orders God awayMarji is now deeply uncertain and pathless.END.